Expanding medicare would increase budget shortfall

There is a constant, but inaccurate, narrative running throughout the media that Republicans are opposed to growing Medicaid.

Yet, Republicans and Democrats vote to increase spending on Medicaid every year because the truly needy in our Commonwealth deserve healthcare but cannot afford it themselves.

In Virginia, Medicaid grows annually by 8 percent. At the same time our state budget writers have to balance funding in education, transportation, public safety and other services.

The expansion of Medicaid that was proposed by Governor McAuliffe would have covered an additional 400,000 Virginians, but it would have also created an annual funding gap of approximately $200 million. McAuliffe proposed no tax increase to fill that gap and offered no compromises to rein in Medicaid spending.

Maybe that’s how you turn our base Democratic voters to attempt to elect friends to the White House, but he was negligent in his efforts with the General Assembly.

Some are even suggesting that the best course now, after having watched the federal government further mess up health care, is to have total control of it through a single payer program.

A single payer, government run plan, is impossible in the United States because Americans have a fondness for freedom. Total control of health care by the government does not work. It had never worked in any country in the world.

If one really wants better health care, one has to live healthier which brings down overall health care costs. Making fewer people pay for their healthcare creates less healthy people because there are no consequences for bad behaviors.

It’s not rocket science, it’s math. If you want to include another $200 million to fill the Medicaid Expansion funding gap, that’s your priority but it must come from somewhere and in the state budget that often means education.

Some would say “just raise taxes!” Again, that’s fine if you are willing to sacrifice economic competitiveness to other states.